Improvement in railway-gates



A. SELSER. Railway-Gates.

No. 205,913. Patented July 9,1878.

Fig. 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIoE.

ABSALOM SELSEB, OE ATHENS, TENNESSEE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAI LWAY-GATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 205,913, dated July 9, IRTH application filed April 9, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABSALOM SELsER, of Athens, in the county of McMinn and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad and Farm Gates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in whieh Figure 1 is a side view, the dotted lines showing the position when the gate is swung aside. Fig. 2 is an end View.

Similar letters of reference indicate correspondin g parts in both figures.

This invention relates to that class of railroad-gates which are operated by the pressure upon the rails next to it exerted by the engines of passing trains; and it consists in the arrangement and combination of parts, substantially as hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A is the foumlation-beam, which is laid in the road-bed crosswise under the track. Secured to the foundation A is an upright, B, to the upper end of which is pivoted a lever, C, the short arm of which is connected by a pivoted rod, a, with an upright, D, forming the long arm of a bent lever, D, pivoted at c to the foundation-beam A.

The short arm D of the bent lever has at the end an upwardly-projeetin g bracket, (1, upon the sides of which rests the ends of the rails e e, the other ends of which are pivoted at f f to the main rails.

A strong spring. g, serves to force the short arm of lever D upward, as shown, thus keepin g the ends of rails e 0, which face each other, raised above the rest of the track.

The gate Gr slides upon rollers or casters h h, arranged upon upright B and upon a third upright or bracket, F, projecting upward from the foundation-beam, to the side of which it is secured. The end of the gate is connected by a pivoted rod, II, with the long arm of the le ver 0, in the manner shown in the drawing.

The operation of my improved railroad-gate is as follows: \Vhen a train approaches the gate from either side the non-pivoted ends of rails c are depressed by the weight of the engine, thus operating the bent lever D, and, through the mechanism herein described, the gate, which is drawn aside to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. I, in which it is kept until the train has passed, when the pressure of spring g upon the short arm of lever l) returns it to its original closed position.

In order to regulate the weight or pressure upon the rail ends required to operate the gate, a beam or bracket, K, having an adjustable weight, '1', may be attached to the upper end of lever-arm D, as shown. In this manner the gate may be so poised as to enable it to be opened, if desirable, by a child.

It is obvious this invention can be adapted to a double track by simply duplicating the parts.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. The combination of the foundatioirbeam A, upright B, bent lever I), lever O, and connecting-rods a II, with the sliding gate G, pivoted rails c e, and spring 9, all arranged and operating substantially in the manner herein described, for the purposes shown and specified.

2. In a railroad-gate constructed and operating substantially as described, the beam or bracket K, having adjustable weight '1', when arranged on the actuating-lever and operating substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ABSALONI SELSE t.

Witnesses:

F. B. MeELwEn, Lon BLIZARI). 

